Google Apps helps CustomMade operate at the speed of small business

CustomMade is an online platform for buying custom goods
from local Makers. See what its CEO and Co-Founder, Mike Salguero, has to say
about Going Google:

CustomMade is built on quality craftsmanship. We’re an online marketplace that
matches our customers with a network of nearly 11,000 of the world’s best
craftspeople - we call them Makers - to give them access to high-quality,
custom-made goods. My co-founder, Seth Rosen, and I started CustomMade because we
love working directly with Makers to build things that matter to people. We’ve
been able to make it successful because we have tools that let us maintain the
high metabolism that small companies require.

We started in 2009 as a two-person company working out of my one-bedroom
apartment, and by being nimble and operating quickly, we’ve grown to 45 full-time
employees working out of our headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Google Apps for Work is the agility engine that helped us get there. It’s
been the backbone of our communication and collaboration, letting us focus on
getting work done rather than how we get it done - a crucial distinction for a
small business.

Google Apps helps us smooth out the rough edges of running a small business, like
onboarding employees. Teaching new hires about the business and culture is
inherently difficult, but since most of our hires use Gmail on a daily basis, we don’t have to spend as much
time teaching them how to use our technology. By giving them the tools they’re
already familiar with, they’re able to adapt quickly and jump right into their
jobs without worrying about how to set up a meeting with Calendar or share a Docs
with their teammates.

With thousands of Makers selling tens of thousands of different products, we’re a
very numbers-focused company. Google Apps makes tracking goals across all of our
teams incredibly simple. Our sales, concierge, and product teams all work towards
weekly goals, such as site traffic and requests for custom items, which they
update constantly in a shared Google Sheet. This
gives me visibility into each team’s performance and metrics, and I know the data
I’m looking at is always up-to-date. We also use Docs and Sheets for operational
tasks, like storing creative briefs and tracking licenses, contractors, addresses
and funnel conversions.

Hangouts are our secret productivity weapon. We
work with 15 freelancers and consultants, including 10 in India, one in the UK
and the rest across the US. Hangouts make it feel like they’re right here in the
office with us. Our team hosts five to 10 Hangouts each day - they’ve become an
integral part of our day-to-day routine.

Moving fast and staying nimble is essential to CustomMade’s success, and Google
Apps keeps us on our toes and forging ahead. Instead of spending time worrying
about IT problems or outdated Excel worksheets, we focus on connecting Makers
like Marv
Beloff with bow tie enthusiasts and helping bring dreams of custom wood
tables to life.

About this company

Google Apps has been with us since we started. Now we’re 45 full-time employees.
Google Apps lets us focus on getting work done rather than how we get it done.